WE ARE OUT OF HERE

I can't wait I am soooooo excited! We are going to Tennessee tomorrow and I can't wait. My friend is getting married in Nashville on Saturday but we are leaving early and living it up for a few days of child free bliss. As an added bonus my friend is driving from Georgia to meet us this weekend. We haven't seen each other in about 9 years so I am soooo excited!!!! Can't wait! This will be our first trip without the boys!!! I hope they don't miss me too much and they don't send my parents to the looney bin in the next five days!! Did I mention I can't wait?!?!?!?!? We go on vacation quite often but always with our boys so I can't wait to be alone with the hubby!!! Woo hoo! Well I need to go finish packing and cleaning the house for my nieces who are the best dogsiiter/housesitters ever!!!! Bye

MY BABY IS TWO!

I know they say to enjoy your children while you can because they grow up so fast and I am trying but it seems like mine are aging faster than I would like. It literally feels like I was just pregnant a few months ago with Isaiah or maybe it is because of the extra weight I carry!! Hehe! Can I still use "I just had a baby" as an excuse for my weight? Is it time to let that excuse go? Ahhhhh! It seems like just yesterday I was saying this was it no more for me because of the whole c-section ordeals with both of the kids but I have caught the itch. The itch to have just one more or is it the realization that I am done that is bothering me. Do I really want three kids to take everywhere I go or do I just want my baby to be a baby forever? I miss my babies! Please tell me two is still a baby! I know logically my children are not by any means grown and at five and two they still depend on me but I miss the little baby moments and I really would love to have a baby girl. However I think a baby girl would bankrupt us! Seriously they have so much more for little girls that I would probably go nuts!!! My whole family would go nuts since there hasn't been a baby girl in twelve years. All of the girl grandkids are older and we miss the little girl times. Well Isaiah turned two today and is a completely different child since the surgery. He is saying or attempting to say everything he can. Now I will have two non-stop talkers! If he talks even half as much as Elijah then we are in trouble! He has been so different from Elijah. Elijah was easy going, calm, polite and talkative while Isaiah has a really bad temper and just stayed silent, whined or yelled everything until now but I guess you have to yell if you can't hear. Well he still has a temper and yells but at least we can understand it now! Now that he can actually hear I just have to teach him about his temper and the yelling. Fun! He has been a sickly child and I hope that has all ended and we can just worry about what he is getting into instead which doctor he has to see today! There is really no point to this and I am rambling now but I just find it so hard to believe my babies are two and five. Now I am going to attempt to shove them into a bottle so they can be young and cute forever and never get into trouble! Yeah right!

THE RAINBOW'S END

Recently on our way to Wal-mart I noticed it was about to storm. It was really dark in what appeared to be the downtown area which was way west of us so we were okay since Wal-mart was only four miles away. By the time we made it to Wal-mart it was storming really bad. I wondered how a storm that appeared to be miles and miles away to the west could actually just be four miles south of us. Well we did the grocery shopping which I absolutely hate then headed home. On the way home we saw a rainbow so Elijah wanted Martez to drive through the field so we could be the first to find the ever elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This got me to thinking. Scary I know! Where is the rainbows end or does it ever end? The chase for the rainbow's end would be a never ending challenge and are there people out there that truly try it. I know in my right mind the rainbow is just light through water or something to that affect so it is basically a trick on our eyes and the pot of gold is just a myth but wouldn't it be nice to find out if the rainbow even has an end and if so what's up with the pot of gold. I am not crazy or stupid it was just one of those things that got me thinking. My next question is how to explain this to a child. I think the whole search for the end of the rainbow is a metaphor for our journey through life and the pot of gold represents the rewards at the end so I guess first I'll need to try and explain a metaphor. Wish me luck!

A DYING BIRD?

I have joined the workout world. In my desire to lose weight, I have come to either a standstill or a lack of will to go on. I have only lost twenty pounds that came off easily and then it just stopped. I decided unlike every other time in my life I am going to succeed if it kills me. I am not going to let one bad meal steer me back to my old ways and give up, I am going to keep on and do better at the next meal! However with the standstill lasting awhile I have decided to exercise. Crazy me I guess I thought I might be able to lose weight without the dreaded task! So Friday I started. I walked on the treadmill and lifted weights! I am hoping to have my arms looking better in the next three weeks for a wedding in Tennessee! Notice I said better not buff! It isn't looking too promising yet because the only change I have noticed is the immense pain that comes with anything I do. I would love to wear sleeveless shirts sometime this summer!! Saturday I went to workout but alas they close early on Saturday and Sunday so they were closed when I arrived! Darn!! I resumed torture on Sunday much to my dismay! Monday morning was hell trying to flat iron my hair then I had to do the order by hand at work yet again and I thought it could be the end. I am not giving up!! Monday night I worked out again. Three out of four days so far is awesome for me! Well as I was walking on the treadmill I had the perfect view of a class in a mirrored room. Oh how I loved it!!! At first my thought was I could do that. They were listening to dance and hip hop music doing a type of upbeat exercise similar to a lot of dance moves. I love to dance! I decided to watch this class and see if I could do it. So I treaded on and watched! Oh my I could never go in there. What if people watched in amusement like I did!! It was freaking hilarious! There were a couple of girls who could actually do the moves and that was it! There were the young girls who probably don't need the exercise they just enjoy it so much - the little freaks! There were the girls trying their hardest and looking okay. The athletic types who are probably working out five freakishly long hours a day anyway! THEN there were the dying birds! The women that made it extrememely hard for me not to laugh out loud. They had flat, broad butts, not too overweight, older with absolutely no movement in their hips, they couldn't figure out the footwork and their arms plus you know in their minds they were questioning the music since it was loud hip hop and pop...........! Oh the arms I am starting to laugh just trying to decide how to describe them. They were just flailing like a bird hurt midflight trying to regain its flight while spiraling down like a torpedo to its death on land! Oh how I loved to watch those women! Oh how I could never ever join that class! I can dance but I don't know if I could hold back the laughter so I wouldn't get kicked out! I will just continue my routine of the treadmill and weights for now and make sure I am there with a prime spot to watch the class every monday!! I went to workout again tonight and must say it isn't that bad once I am actually there it is nice to finally have some "me" time!!

ATTEMPTING TO GO GREEN

Oprah caught my listening ear yet again and I am going to make an honest attempt to go green but not go overboard and build a house out of dirt and tree limbs!!! I am going to watch my electricity and water consumption although I am not sure about keeping my house at 78 degrees. I have bought some compact flourescent lightbulbs and can't wait to see if it actually lowers my electric bill like they claim. I am going to start recycling paper, plastic, aluminum cans and batteries. I found out there is a recycling drop off about two miles from our house and another in BA! I am even going to recycle all the worthless faxes and nonsense papers from work. Don't know about taking my own canvas washable bag for groceries though. Seriously how many families can get all their groceries in a couple of canvas bags! I would have to buy like thirty! I went online to stop the junk mail from coming to my house. I am also going to try the Shaklee and other all natural cleaning products available and hope it also will help with our home air quality. Some may say I am crazy but I clean all the time and some of those chemicals give me a headache and I know that strong chemical smell can't be healthy. My next idea is to refill Martez's water bottles with the filtered water from our refrigerator to see how long it takes him to notice and that will be a case of plastic bottles saved per week!! I'll just close them really tight so he'll maybe believe they are sealed!! I've never understood why he doesn't drink it anyway - it is filtered and cold. They also talked about cutting down on the number of napkins used per day. However can't help much there I have two boys and they just know how to wipe it on their shirt! Just kidding but we really never have napkins so I guess I will cut down on the number of baby wipes I use per day. I am only going to run the dryer and dishwasher in the early morning or evening hours when it is cooler since they produce more heat in the house. I will also wash in cold water. That one will be the easiest because every big girl knows your clothes shrink in hot water and we can't have that!!! Next I am going to get a smart strip. It keeps the tv, dvd player or computer from wasting energy even when they are turned off and supposedly this will lower the electric bill too. We'll see and I'll let you know. I do wonder though: Will I have to constantly reset the clocks on the tv etc? That would get really old! Keep the toaster, coffee maker, mixer, or other unused appliances unplugged if they aren't in use! I hate coffee so that is no biggie! I figure I can at least try if not for myself then for my children because they will be the ones living here long after we are gone. I am going to get The Green Book! It is supposed to have 500 everyday easy things to help save our planet. I'll let you all know about the easy things that we all can do to help out because for now that is all I have the time and energy for - easy!! That sounded bad but I am a busy working mom, the easier the better. At least I am willing to try. If it is as easy as they make it sound then I will be able to do it and so will you! Here I go wish me luck and don't worry I am not going to be a crazed environmentalist living in a treehouse I am just going to be eco-friendly! And have you all been watching the Planet Earth series on Discovery? It is truly amazing. Elijah insisted on watching it because of all the animals and now we are all hooked. They have some unbelievable footage. It is a MUST see for all

ONE SICK SOCCER MOM

Elijah is playing soccer so I guess I am the ever dreaded soccer mom now! Ha! Anyway one of the mother's was asking how Isaiah was doing and when his surgery was so I answered her (we've known each other for awhile) then I got the third degree from another woman. She acted like it was a competition to see who had the sicker child and she drove me nuts. I mentioned the RSV deal and when everything began and she went on to tell me her son had RSV at an even earlier age - so! Her high and mighty tone killed me and she wasn't involved in our conversation to begin with. Then I mentioned his ear infections and the fact that his surgery was to get tubes and have his adenoids removed and she got snotty and replied her son had his removed at seven months. I tried to show her some sympathy and act like I cared but don't ask me why he is having surgery if you don't really care to know. I know there are many children in worse situations than Isaiah but that doesn't mean his problems aren't serious to me. Really my son may have permanent hearing loss and she was worried about proving her son was worse off when he was Isaiah's age! She acted like no one's problems mattered because they didn't compare to hers. "I don't care and don't act like your issues are the only ones that matter" kept running through my head!! Her ranting and raving went on for quite awhile and I eventually just blocked her out. It wouldn't been so bad if she wasn't soooooo rude about it! Her son who is now Elijah's age seemed fine to me as he played soccer! Well I saw her today in drug warehouse while picking up a prescription for Isaiah who has developed an infection since the surgery. Again the competition resumed! She asked how the surgery went and I told her good and mentioned what the doctor had said and that now two days after the surgery he has an infection so I had to pick up a prescription. I kept it short and sweet with as little details as possible for her to compete with. Then it happened: Apparently her son had the worst adenoids ever seen by an ENT in the US and he developed an infection only one day after surgery instead of Isaiah's two days. I was really getting annoyed! Who gives a rat's a**!!!! She went on and on how I was lucky Isaiah wasn't as bad as her Griffin. WHAT? So I replied, "Yeah I am so lucky my child hasn't been able to hear or talk correctly, has had a runny nose every day of his short little life and has had 10 ear infections in 11 months along with diarrhea and diaper rash due to the array of antibiotics he's had to take. You win okay you have a sicker child than I do! Are you happy? Now leave me alone I really don't give a rat's ass because this isn't a competition and if you want sympathy it is between shit and syphilllis in the dictionary!!" The pharmacy staff just starred at us totally clueless then said that'll be $30! Melanie would be so proud she told me the sympathy phrase but I never thought I would be angry enough to use it and I probably shouldn't have but I loss all filters in that moment. I probably shouldn't have got so angry but it has been two weeks of her crap and just the way she says everything annoys me! Well it should be really interesting at the soccer game on Saturday. Hopefully she will decide not to sit beside me like she does every week.

MY PERSONAL SNOT FACTORY

I was taking a shower this morning when I heard Isaiah screaming at the top of his lungs over the water running and the exhaust fan running. I turned off the water, grabbed a towel and ran in his room to discover the most disgusting thing I think I've ever seen. The nurses and doctors said he will have some nasal discharge and some coughing for a few days. What I saw was beyond excessive in fact he looked like something off of an alien movie and I would rather clean up a full room of vomit than do what I had to do!!! Since I've become a mommy I've learned to handle things I never thought I would like projectile vomiting and diarrhea but this one grossed me out! Isaiah had a mound of dried snot covering his nostrils and dried into a little hill between his nose and his mouth. His nostrils weren't even visible. His shirt, hands, mouth, and pillow had neon green strings of snot everywhere!!! Yes it was a gag fest!! He was screaming and I tried to clean it off but it was stuck. I had to soak it with a warm cloth. After I got the mound removed I tugged at a booger from the edge of his nostril and I never could've imagined what happened next. The booger ended up being about an 8 inch long string of green snot that just kept coming out of his nose! Isaiah was crying and all I could think was I want MY mommy! I got Isaiah cleaned up and he put his head on my shoulder then began to scream again. I thought maybe his ears hurt but no it was just more of the alien invasion snot fest that was now stringing down my shoulder. That's it I was calling the doctor because there is no way this is "normal". Well it's not he has an infection so he needs antibiotics which means diarrhea and diaper rash for my boy. I hope this all ends pretty soon because I know he has to be miserable!! I also informed the nurse not to tell parents they may have some nasal discharge but instead tell parents their children could wake up resembling a slimy green little alien!! I really should've taken a picture because no one can even imagine the amount of snot coming from my boy it was unbelievable but I didn't think he was in the mood to smile for the camera!!

TUBE TIME

Yesterday Isaiah had his ear surgery. We had to be at the Tulsa Spine and Specialty Hospital (71st & HW 75) at 6 a.m. Now we all know that I am an insomnaic and hate mornings especially early morning appointments!!!! I went to bed at 1:30 a..m. and woke up at 4:50 a.m. sometimes I amaze myself with how stupid I can be! Isaiah did really really well!! No end of the world tantrums except for when they put him on the scale then decided they didn't need his weight that bad!! He went into surgery at 7:15 and we went to eat breakfast in the mini cafeteria. It was actually good! Dr. Vaidya came back at about 7:50 and said everything went well. He said Isaiah had even more fluid than he had originally thought and he was surprised he talks as much as he does because there is no way he was hearing very much at all. His adenoids were "huge and nasty" but gone!!! Are adenoids ever not nasty? I hope this fixes all of my baby's problems like the constant bad breath, hearing and speech probems and the 24/7/365 runny nose. The doc said his breath would actually get worse for awhile and would "test the love for our child because it will be like breath from an animal that eats its own feces". Did he read my blog??? So far so good he woke up at about 8:45 and we got to go in and see him. I was ready for the screaming fit I was told would occur due to the anesthesia but it didn't happen. WHAT? No my child was the only quiet one of the bunch - now that is the true shocker!! They said he slept so long that he probably slept off more of the anesthesia than the others. He saw me said "Unt juice!" He downed two cups of juice, they took out his IV, we were home and he was in bed by 9:50 a.m. I had to stay up because Elijah had his spring music program at school at noon. When I got home Isaiah said "HI Mommy" and was eating. He is truly amazing - the kid has had two surgeries in 9 mos and both times you wouldn't even know he had anything done by that night. Then it was time for the ear drops or WWIII! Isaiah is doing really well and hasn't even had any of the after effects they said he would have. No blood coming from his ears and no bad breath YET! He will have his first hearing test in two weeks. I am willing his results be the best possible!!

LIFE ISN'T ALWAYS A BED OF ROSES

Well Friday I hurt myself somehow while trying to put detergent in the dishwasher. Cleaning can be dangerous!! I thought it was my sciatic nerve and thought I might die. It hasn't bothered me since I was pregnant, thank God because that is painful! Well Saturday we woke up and sorted through the junk in the garage then endured three hours of soccer with absolutely no shade. My arms and a vee on my chest were burnt. Instead of coming home and resting I decided I wanted to plant flowers. Four and a half hours later when I could no longer move or sit without pain I decided to stop and resume the next day. Well Sunday I woke up early to finish planting my flowers since I only had half of one bed to finish for now. It took me two hours because the pain was sooooo bad I had to call Martez out several times to help me off the ground BUT I was not giving up! I fininshed the flowers then had to get ready to go to the zoo since that was the original plan for Sunday afternoon and I didn't feel like listening to everyone if we didn't go. I figured it wouldn't be that bad since I would be walking and that didn't really bother me. It was bending, sitting, leaning or getting up that hurt. Then I realized getting in the car was extremely painful as well as driving!! I made it through the zoo okay but I was ready to go home and sit with an ice pack! On my way home I realized I forgot to use our four free zoo passes that expire on the 24th and no way am I going back before then!!! Brilliant I tell you!! I got home and the house was really stuffy and hot. The air conditioner was broke and our house was 78 degrees. I panicked because Martez was driving his dad to Hominy and I did everything I knew to do and it only made the house hotter. Now it was 80 degrees! So I decided just to sit in my comfy little chair and relax but once I sat down at home there was no getting up! SERIOUSLY I could not get out of my chair! I was in tears just trying to attempt the mighty feat!!! THEN the remote control wouldn't work and I had to watch ESPN sports because I couldn't get up to change the channel without crying. Martez fixed the air conditioner when he got home - just one of the many reasons I love this man!! Monday rolls around and I go to work looking like a hunchback so my dad decides to give me a muscle relaxer telling me it will help my nerve pain. NOT!! It only made me loopy and giggly but killed NO pain. Monday afternoon I went to the chiro and the lady says "What did you do hurt yourself then plant your flowers?" She was joking but shocked when I said "Yes actually I did plus I cleaned the garage, watched soccer and went to the zoo!" She said "Remembering how you feel right now, tell me how smart you are!" She is lucky I couldn't move!! Just kidding I like her and she just knows me too well. My high tolerance of pain should have told me when I was stuck a couple times in my yard to call it quits but I didn't! He fixed me!! I still hurt but NOTHING like I was and it is bearable. I guess I dislocated my hip and pinched several nerves then my muscles reacted to the new posture I needed to live with the pain! How smart am I?!?!? But at least my flowers are planted and beautiful! I'll just have to wait to finish the other flower beds and do the mulch - I HATE the mulch part!

MAY DAY MAY DAY

Whatever happened to May Day? When I was little we always made paper flowers or potted a small flower which we placed in a doorway rang the doorbell and ran!! It is supposed to be the day of the first spring planting. My kids have never made anything for may day at their school so what happened?!?!? Maybe I am getting old and not remembering correctly but I swear it was for May Day.